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  • Want $4m? Come up with the next big idea in energy

    By on 14 May, 2012

    We need to fix energy. That much is obvious. Fossil fuels are slowly choking the planet, nuclear is falling out of favour and although the alternatives are getting more efficient, the scope for improvement is massive. One way to get people innovating is to give them an incentive. About US$4-million sounds good. The Zayed Future Energy Prize is offering exactly that amount of money for companies, individuals, organisations and high schools that think they can change energy for the better. Held each year, the prize claims that it reflects “innovation, impact, long-term vision and leadership in the fields of renewable...

  • This great spoof app highlights Niger Delta oil nightmare [Video]

    By on 14 May, 2012

    Royal Dutch Shell is frequently blamed for turning the Niger Delta into the conflict-ridden ecological disaster it is today. Its apparent solution: the Live With it App. Actually, it turns out the video is part of Friends of the Earth Netherlands' latest campaign against the oil giant. The campaign, called Worse than Bad, aims to highlight the devastation that drilling for oil has caused in the region. Worse than Bad claims that over the last 50 years "Shell has helped turn the Niger Delta into the world's largest oil spill" and estimates that around 400-million gallons of oil...

  • Iran bans international email providers like Gmail and Yahoo! Mail

    By on 14 May, 2012

    In another example of the censorship that lead to the country being declared the biggest enemy of internet freedom, the Iranian government is reportedly banning access to international email providers like Gmail, Yahoo Mail and Hotmail. According to AFP, the Iranian telecommunications agency has ordered that banks, insurance firms and telephone operators in the country switch over to email providers with .ir domains, and cease contacting clients who are using international email providers. If people want to communicate with these businesses, they have to use an email address ending in iran.ir, post.ir or chmail.ir. Universities must use email addresses...

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  • Shutterstock aims for $115m IPO

    By on 14 May, 2012

    So just how much is a stock image site worth? Well US$115-million is apparently a reasonable enough assumption. That’s the maximum value the US-based site Shutterstock is looking to get out in its Initial Public Offering (IPO), after filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today. In its filing it said the IPO would be managed by Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank Securities and Jefferies. At present, it is unclear how many shares will be put up for sale and how much the stock will go for. A recent report from news agency Reuters suggests that the company pulled...

  • Privacy vs Social: Cool solutions to help you cope

    By on 14 May, 2012

    I've been advocating a stronger approach to privacy for some time now. My biggest concern is that we share so much private information using social media, that identity theft and other security issues are only just beginning to become apparent. Aside from this, we are caught between the need to take advantage of the social networks that the majority of our peers share and simply giving in to the terms and conditions that come as part and parcel of these services. Most notably, all of the content that you share over a social networking site suddenly becomes transparent to...

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  • Why Microsoft blocking third-party browsers is no cause for panic

    By on 14 May, 2012

    Go to most boardrooms today and you’ll see less and less people with laptops and more people using tablets and smartphones. As Android and iOS have firmly cemented themselves into the on-the-move computing via tablets and smartphones, Microsoft is yet to make its cautious leap into the fray. While Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system still dominates in laptop sales, the truth is that more people are looking to tablets for running around. Enter Windows 8. Microsoft has already partnered with Nokia to introduce its smartphone OS to the world, and while the launch has arguably been a bit of a flop, all...

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  • Zando: The Germans are here

    By on 14 May, 2012

    Zando has hit the African continent. The ecommerce outfit has been building a presence in South Africa for the last three months. The local stores in the country, like the Naspers-owned Kalahari and the newly relaunched Takealot are about to get some serious competition. Zando is an online shoe and fashion retail outlet that apes the model pioneered by US-based company Zappos and it's been making serious waves with a massive advertising campaign in print, online, and radio. The company is owned by Rocket Internet, which lays claim a global ecommerce empire -- GigaOM estimates...

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  • Gearburn gets real with Max Payne [Q&A]

    By on 14 May, 2012

    Gearburn’s Ronan Steyn got a chance to exchange some candid words with Max Payne: the star of the hotly anticipated Rockstar Studios’ game. Gearburn: So Max, thanks for taking time to chat to us today. Now we all know the old Max Payne, but tell us a bit about the new you. Max Payne: Like a bad soap’s storyline, mine keeps going. I had to leave New York City after Mona died, and Sao Paulo seemed as bad a place as any. var vglnk={key:"cc324b6567a9637aa0ff15bc9564b2a5"};!function(e,a){var t=e.createElement(a);t.type="text/javascript",t.async=!0,t.src="//cdn.viglink.com/api/vglnk.js";var n=e.getElementsByTagName(a);n.parentNode.insertBefore(t,n)}(document,"script");

  • Rocket Internet to launch Nigerian Amazon clone [Report]

    By on 14 May, 2012

    German-based cloning giant Rocket Internet is set to open up an Amazon-style ecommerce site in Nigeria. The company made its first big forays onto the continent with a number of properties in South Africa. These include a stake in Groupon, shoe and clothing site Zando, and make up testing service Glossybox. Nigerian tech site Techloy claims a reliable source confirmed that the new ecommerce property would sell books, DVDs and electronics along the Amazon model. This is contrary to a report from competing site Technesstivity which said that the company was launching an online clothing brand called Sabunta. Rocket Internet...

  • Russian satellite shows off Earth’s beauty in highest res ever

    By on 14 May, 2012

    Wow. Just wow. There's nothing quite like a view of our humble little planet taken from space to give you a sense of perspective. You can't get much clearer perspective than this stunning 121 Megapixel shot of the Earth taken by a Russian weather satellite. The image, which is the clearest shot of the planet to date, was taken with a single shot, unlike NASA's updated 'Blue Marble' image which is a composite of multiple images. According to Mashable, the satellite reportedly combines visible and infrared light waves. The latter is used to see plant matter, which is why...

  • New press shots of Samsung Galaxy S III accessories revealed

    By on 14 May, 2012

    Courtesy of the folks over at Mobile Fun, we are able to give you a closer look at some of the accessories for the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S III.var vglnk={key:"cc324b6567a9637aa0ff15bc9564b2a5"};!function(e,a){var t=e.createElement(a);t.type="text/javascript",t.async=!0,t.src="//cdn.viglink.com/api/vglnk.js";var n=e.getElementsByTagName(a);n.parentNode.insertBefore(t,n)}(document,"script");

  • Yahoo! confirms Thompson departure

    By on 14 May, 2012

    Yahoo! Has confirmed that CEO Scott Thompson has stepped down, to be replaced by former media head Ross Levinsohn. The announcement caps a chaotic period in which Thompson was found to have faked a Computer Science degree on his CV. The company also announced that Fred Amoroso would be the new chairman of its board. As was expected, the man who first pointed a finger at Thompson, Daniel Loeb has come up trumps. His company Third Point, now has three board seats to be taken up by Loeb himself, Harry J. Wilson, and Michael J. Wolf. Yahoo!...

  • Yahoo’s Thompson quits in wake of CV scandal

    By on 13 May, 2012

    Yahoo's CEO Scott Thompson is set to step down from his job at the embattled internet giant just months after taking over from Carol Bartz. According to AllThingsD, the company will say that Thompson's is leaving for "personal reasons". Revelations that Thompson faked parts of his CV, however, are likely at the centre of his decision to exit Yahoo! The company's global media head Ross Levinsohn, who also ran its Americas unit, is reportedly next in line for Yahoo!'s revolving throne. When Thompson's indiscretions were first revealed, the company issued a statement saying: “In connection with...

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  • How social media supports business events in emerging markets

    By on 11 May, 2012

    My first thoughts when sitting down to write about emerging markets and social media was 'where to start?' Social media is a huge topic and emerging markets are vast, so I’ll narrow this down to using popular social media tools to support Business to Business (B2B) events in emerging markets, virtual and physical. One huge event “The Egyptian Revolution” Now this deserves a post of its own, and I promise I’ll write one. This was certainly not a B2B event, but I just wanted to mention that, based in Cairo, I experienced how social media supported this huge event. Some people...

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  • What gaps need to be plugged in the African startup ecosystem?

    By on 11 May, 2012

    Africa's startup ecosystem is in a state of flux. These are the formative days, the few million years post big-bang, if you would. So there are many questions and many gaps that need to be filled as we seek to learn from other innovation centers around the world, while at the same time setting the rules that will work best for our context all while actually building this thing. In a sense, it’s like setting about building a structure while figuring out what the actual structure should look like in the end and not just that but also how...

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